It is said that Francis Drake was playing bowls when the Armada was sighted.

The Spanish Armada 02

This KS3 History quiz asks questions on the Spanish Armada. The English navy at the time had only about half as many ships as the Armada. They had tried to stop the Spanish fleet closer to Spain a couple of times but failed because of bad weather. The English ships were in Plymouth when the Armada appeared in English waters. It was here that Francis Drake is said to have kept cool and finished playing a game of bowls. Historians think that if this actually happened, it was probably because Drake knew he needed to wait for the tide to turn before his ships could leave harbour.

The big break for the English navy came when the Armada's Admiral, the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, unexpectedly anchored off Calais. The English sent fireships in amongst the Armada. The Spanish quickly set sail and were unable to get organised into their usual defensive formation during the next day's battle.

Strong winds blew the Armada off course and into the North Sea. The English navy chased them as far as the Firth of Forth in Scotland, so they had to return to Spain by sailing round the north and west of the British Isles. During that voyage, almost half of the ships and men were lost, without the English navy needing to attack them.

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